South Haven, MI

South Haven is a city located in the south-central portion of Michigan. The population was 20,936 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ottawa County. South Haven was first settled in 1826 and incorporated as a village in 1853. It became a city in 1902.

The city's economy is based on its role as a regional center for commerce and services, including retail sales, health care, banking and insurance services, and manufacturing. The city's largest employers are South Haven Hospital Corporation and Borg Warner Incorporated (makers of automotive parts). Other major businesses include Kmart Corporation (retailer), Meijer (supermarket chain), JCPenney (retailer), Sears Holdings Corporation (retailer), Kroger Company ( grocery store chain) , Home Depot (home improvement retailer) , Lowe's Companies Incorporated (home improvement retailer) , Advance Auto Parts Incorporated (automotive parts retailer) , Bed Bath & Beyond Incorporated( home furnishings retailer) .

The city has an extensive public transportation system that includes buses, trains, ferries and light rail service. There are also several bicycle paths throughout the city.

Real estate in South Haven has seen significant growth over the past decade or so with prices increasing faster than average rates for cities of its size across Michigan. In 2008 median home prices were $101,000 which had increased to $130,000 by 2012 according to data from Zillow . The median price for single family homes during this same time period increased from $119,000 to $158,000 while condo prices increased from $50K to over $100K during this same time period according to data from Trulia . Prices have continued to increase since then with the most recent data showing that median home prices reached an all-time high of $194K in May of 2017 according to Zillow . This represents an increase of almost 50% from where they were just four years earlier! While there may be some localized pockets of higher priced homes within South Haven overall prices remain relatively affordable when compared to other larger cities across Michigan such as Detroit or Lansing which both have median home values well above 200K according to data from Zillow